Siberia-to-Moscow Motor Rally Planned by Opposition

Sergei Udaltsov at a recent protest against Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization
Anton Belitsky

Opposition leaders are laying plans for campaign camps and a motor rally through Russia’s regions to keep up the momentum of the protest movement over the summer months.

“The aim of the motor rally and camps is to clarify the opposition’s demands and invite people to the March of Millions [protest] on Sept. 15,” opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov wrote on Twitter late Tuesday.

Udaltsov added that both the campaign camps and motor rally would cover key Russian regions, with the motor rally leaving Siberia in late August to arrive in time for the protest in Moscow.

Dmitry Gudkov, a State Duma deputy with the Just Russia party, told Itar-Tass that opposition deputies would lead the motor rally so traffic police wouldn’t stop the convoy of opposition-minded drivers.

Potential “checkpoints” on the southern leg of the rally include Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Tolyatti, Volgograd, Vladimir, Kaluga and Pskov, Just Russia Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov wrote on his LiveJournal blog.

In an effort to alert Twitter followers of the planned events, protest organizers have also opened a separate account, @whiteprobeg, and created a hashtag, #ДМПавтопробег (#DMPavtoprobeg).